Weak Pastor, Strong Christ: Developing a Christ-Shaped Gospel Ministry

By Reuben Bredenhof

The second letter to the Corinthians is a touchstone for pastors seeking advice on effective ministry. It is a revealing window into the tumult of Paul’s relationship with this congregation that shows Paul’s concern for the spiritual welfare of a local church. Although he loved the Corinthians dearly and labored for them intensely, their relationship was marked by the tensions and challenges that are acutely familiar to church leaders today: unclear expectations, comparison to other pastors, criticisms of ministry style, vocational stresses, disputes over money, and more. Reuben Bredenhof expertly unpacks these complexities and reveals Paul’s vision for Christ-shaped gospel ministry—a vision that can help you, too.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Searching for a Model of Ministry

1. Serving under Pressure
2. Building a Ministerial Identity
3. Pastoring Like a Father
4. Preaching for the Glory of Christ
5. Facing a Barrage of Criticism
6. Handling Money Wisely
7. Being a Willing Sufferer
8. Working with Purpose

Afterword: Traveling from Corinth to Today

• Language: English
• Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
• Release date: Apr 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781601788436

Reuben Bredenhof

Reuben Bredenhof serves as minister of the Mount Nasura Free Reformed Church in Western Australia.

Book preview

WEAK PASTOR,

STRONG CHRIST

Developing a Christ-Shaped Gospel Ministry

Reuben Bredenhof

Reformation Heritage Books

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Weak Pastor, Strong Christ

© 2021 by Reuben Bredenhof

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Direct your requests to the publisher at the following addresses:

Reformation Heritage Books

3070 29th St. SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49512

616-977-0889

[e-mail]

www.heritagebooks.org

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

All italics in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Printed in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bredenhof, Reuben, author.

Title: Weak pastor, strong Christ : developing a Christ-shaped gospel ministry / Reuben Bredenhof.

Description: Grand Rapids, Michigan : Reformation Heritage Books, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020055907 (print) | LCCN 2020055908 (ebook) | ISBN 9781601788429 (paperback) | ISBN 9781601788436 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Corinthians, 2nd—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Pastoral theology—Biblical teaching. | Pastoral theology—Reformed Church.

Classification: LCC BS2675.6.P45 B74 2021 (print) | LCC BS2675.6.P45 (ebook) | DDC 253—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020055907

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020055908

For additional Reformed literature, request a free book list from Reformation Heritage Books at the above regular or email address.

Gratefully dedicated to the pastors

whose faithful preaching, teaching, and care I received

before becoming a pastor myself:

Rev. Dr. James Visscher

Rev. Jack Moesker

Rev. Clarence Stam†

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Searching for a Model of Ministry

1. Serving under Pressure

2. Building a Ministerial Identity

3. Pastoring Like a Father

4. Preaching for the Glory of Christ

5. Facing a Barrage of Criticism

6. Handling Money Wisely

7. Suffering Willingly

8. Working with a Purpose

Afterword: Traveling from the First Century to Today

Selected Bibliography

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

An idea for a new book typically has a long period of gestation. The concept of this book has origins that can be traced back almost a dozen years to when I served my first congregation and enrolled part time in some biblical studies courses. While I was pastoring a church in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, I completed a master of theology degree with a focus on New Testament studies. This was back in 2009. The final component of the degree program was a thesis, which I chose to write on Paul’s relationship with the church of Corinth, particularly as he portrays this pastor-congregation bond in 2 Corinthians. It was a project that combined my love for the New Testament with my growing appreciation for the privilege of pastoral ministry, and I relished the several months I was able to devote to researching and writing on Paul as pastor in 2 Corinthians. Thesis accepted and degree granted, I moved on to other projects.

But my dear wife, Rebecca, who often has excellent ideas, suggested already back then that I should do something more with all the work I had completed on 2 Corinthians. Turn it into a book was basically what she said. I agreed that the idea had merit, so it went onto the to-do list, where it stayed for about ten years. But at last the opportune time came for me to take my old thesis off the shelf and to give the project another look. Transforming an academic thesis into an accessible book was, of course, far more work than I expected, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the task—and now it is finally done.

I am grateful to have been able to revisit the beautiful truths found on the pages of God’s Word in 2 Corinthians, the powerful gospel realities, and the encouraging lessons in gospel ministry. I have certainly not written this book as a minister who has found all the answers and learned all the lessons, but in the deep awareness that I am just one more weak pastor who needs to live in dependence on the strong Christ.

As she has been for many years now, Rebecca was a great support for my work on this book too. With love I thank her for always walking alongside me in my ministry, for reading (twice!) and commenting on all these pages, and, indeed, for giving me that good idea for a book so long ago. Once again, the content of this book needed to pass the careful scrutiny of our daughters—Abigail, Kyra, Sasha, and Tori—who can always be counted on to provide helpful comments, insightful observations, and warm encouragement to their dad. Much appreciation goes to Marlene de Vos of my congregation, who was again ready and willing to spend many hours proofreading an early draft. I would also like to thank the friends and colleagues who happily accepted my invitation to read and comment on the manuscript: Rev. Axel Hagg, Dr. DongWoo Oh, and Rev. Wieste Huizenga. The book is better for their many wise and thoughtful queries and suggestions. Finally, it has been a pleasure to work on this project with Dr. Jay Collier from Reformation Heritage Books and to benefit from the editorial labors of Dr. Drew McGinnis.

May the lessons for ministry drawn from 2 Corinthians be a blessing to all who read these pages!

INTRODUCTION

SEARCHING FOR A MODEL OF MINISTRY

Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

—1 CORINTHIANS 11:1

I was twenty-seven years old, fresh out of seminary with a master of divinity in hand, and just beginning the work of pastoral ministry in a church in central Alberta, Canada. Years of preparation had finally led to getting a job and taking up a meaningful task. But even amid my excitement about the new position and responsibility, I felt a whiff of uncertainty. There were lingering doubts and misgivings about what it would take to do this work properly in the coming years. Old hesitations about personal competence and character were suddenly resurrected and became pronounced in my mind. Seminary supplied certain tools—basic skill in exegesis and sermon crafting, some knowledge of church history, and the fundamentals of human psychology—but still I wondered: How can I actually be a pastor in the truest sense of the word, shepherding a congregation effectively and with purpose? How can I work faithfully among the church members who have now been placed in my care?

These questions are not new. For as long as the Christian church has been in existence, there have been persons entrusted with the task of caring for the church’s members. And these persons—whether called bishops, overseers, elders, presbyters, ministers, or pastors—have always needed to reflect on their work and to be guided and encouraged in the proper manner of ministry. Already in the first few decades after Christ’s time on earth, the apostle Paul gave instruction on pastoral ministry when he wrote two letters to Timothy and one to Titus, men who were involved in the care of Christian congregations. Timothy in particular seems to have struggled with questions of his personal suitability for the task. His struggle is mirrored in Paul’s words, Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity (1 Tim. 4:12). And Paul equipped Timothy and Titus for the challenges and opportunities of their work in the churches by writing the Pastoral Epistles, describing the qualifications, tasks, and conduct of Christian ministers.

But while Christians have long turned to the Pastoral Epistles for instruction in how to do the work of ministry, Paul’s other letters have not typically been read with the same expectation. On first consideration this is unsurprising, as the Pastoral Epistles are decidedly oriented to the topic of ministry. Their very name suggests that pastors are going to find helpful direction and encouragement on their pages. Moreover, Paul’s other letters might be neglected for instruction in this topic because the apostle is typically seen to fill the role of a missionary and itinerant church planter. He is not usually thought of as a pastor in the sense of the term that is familiar to us, that is, one who ministers to the spiritual needs of a local congregation on a regular basis.

Yet even a passing glance at Paul’s ministry reveals that he was more than an evangelist and theologian, he was also a pastor. From the New Testament accounts we can see that he was regularly involved in the ongoing spiritual care of the Christians to whom he had first preached the gospel. In fact, Paul’s pastoral work among the various congregations of the early decades of the church cannot be isolated from his other labors of gospel leadership and evangelism. For him the two activities went hand in hand: telling people about Christ, and then helping believers to grow in Christ.

How did Paul carry out his pastoral activities? He did so in a variety of ways, such as through visiting the churches personally and sending them his authorized representatives. But it seems that Paul’s pastoring was conducted particularly through the letters he sent to various churches when he was unable to visit them. His letters provide not only an intimate look into the theological and ethical challenges faced by the early churches, but also into the way Paul sought to guide and exhort the congregations from a distance. It is a reasonable expectation, then, that through studying not just the Pastoral Epistles but the rest of Paul’s letters, we can gain insight into the work of ministry as carried out by the apostle.

This brings us to 2 Corinthians. Even a cursory reading reveals its exceptionally personal and emotionally intense character among the letters of Paul. It offers an intriguing window into the apostle’s relationship with one of the congregations he founded, the church at Corinth. Paul and the Corinthians apparently had a relationship of mutual affection, but one that also suffered times of strain and stress. In 2 Corinthians he alternates between pleading with them, warning them, teaching, rebuking, and reassuring them. For a variety of reasons that we will consider shortly, the Corinthians doubted Paul’s dedication to them as a congregation. Besides this distrust, they favored other church leaders whose appearances were more impressive, whose oratory was more skillful, and who spoke more freely about their dramatic religious experiences.

Because of these criticisms and comparisons, Paul defends the way he has treated the Corinthians and has carried out his ministry among them. In this letter he provides a pointed apology for his character and conduct. At the same time, 2 Corinthians illustrates Paul’s abiding devotion to this congregation. Despite the difficulties that are currently affecting their relationship, he instructs, warns, encourages, and commends the Corinthians, consistently expressing his delight in these believers and his great love for them in Christ. It is his Christ-shaped view of the Corinthians as their pastor that Paul wants the members of the congregation to understand and appreciate.

As we look at 2 Corinthians in coming chapters, we will examine how he expresses the character of his pastoral relationship with this congregation. We will give attention to those places where Paul speaks personally and directly to his readers by describing his holy privileges and weighty obligations as a pastor. Using a number of striking motifs and images, Paul endeavors to reveal the depths of his concern and affection for the Corinthians as their minister. It is Paul’s considered view of his relationship with the Corinthians that will provide valuable aspects of a model for contemporary Christian ministry.

Of course, the social, cultural, and ecclesiastical situation has changed substantially from Paul’s time to our own. We need to be cautioned against making illegitimate correlations between the practice of ministry in the first century and that in the twenty-first. Relating this to our study of 2 Corinthians and its portrayal of Paul’s relationship with the congregation of Corinth, we note that any relationship is inevitably shaped by one’s culture. Today there are different expectations and boundaries for personal relationships than were considered acceptable in the time of the apostle Paul. This means that the character of the involvement between a pastor and his congregation today can be expected to have changed to some degree.

Compounding this difficulty is Paul’s distinctive position within the history of the Christian church. Paul was an apostle, and as such he possessed a unique ecclesiastical office that no longer functions today. And while some of Paul’s peers (such as Timothy and Titus) held leadership positions in the early churches, ministry in Christian congregations at Paul’s time was at best organized only at a rudimentary level. When Paul was involved in pastoring the Corinthians, there was not yet a developed structure of church authority to regulate or inform his actions. This meant that Paul was free to exercise the responsibilities and privileges of

Reviews for Weak Pastor, Strong Christ

[Gabriel Curcubet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books about pastoral ministry which gave a lot of encouragement.